News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

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THE AIR FORCES NEII'8 LETTER I toon jUIIIPSare included, usually from a considerably lower altitude than the D09ice jumps, Novice jumpe are .. de fro. hilher altitudes because of the safety factor involved, "ratrooper equipment is surprisingly complete. r Depending upon the circUIIIstances, it may include \( rifles, light and heavy machine guns, 50 caliber antitank and antiaircraft machine IUDS, 37 _. cannon, hand grenades, pistols, infantry mortars, sub-machine guns and demolition equipment. As D1Ch al'mBlllent as ponible is dropped with each individual .oldier, there_inder being lowered separately. .If the occa.ion demands, it has even been demon- .trated as practicable to transport and lower 75 _. howi hers. The Germans have even been known to drop collapsible bicycles, small boab. and knives with their parachute troope. In addition to armament, parachutists mu.t carry their own means of comnunication, as _11 as their own ration. and supplies. Ccammication equipment includes portable radio sets, aircraft .ignal panels and pyrotechnics. Each soldier carries one ration on his person. Others are dropped in .eparate containers and are picked up after landing. For head protection parachute troops are supplied with crash helmets. Special boots strongly reinforced at the ankle and at the calf are used to minimize the dancer of leg injury. Altt-J1h the hhtor.y of the parachutiat is closelyallied with the development of the modern blitz type of _rfare, this does not mean that landing troops and equipment by parachute i. a new military tecmique. As far back as 1929 the United State. Army conducted one of the first succeuful experiments of this nature by landing a machine gun crew, complete with gun and ammunition, at Kelly Fiel;d in Texas. The 'chute used to lower the machiile &un had been sper lty -1esigned and developed by Sgt. (later Mr. Sgt ) Erwin H. Nichols, the"daddy" of ArmY parachut ~sts. Sergeant Nichols the fifth man in the world to make a parachute .i ;.lDIpfrom an airplane, enlisted at Brook. Field dUJing the World War, and, because of his special interest in this activity, soon.became. the first parachute instructor in the United States ArmY. For several years he was in charge of parachute training at Randolph Field. Sergeant Nichols _s head of the parachute rigging depart. ment at Chanute Field, Ill., at the time of his death from a heart attack in 1931. Probably the first conscious effort to experiment with the use of parachutists in mass proportions was by the Soviet Union during the several years which irr.n.e.liatelypreceded the outbreak of the present _!". The Red ArmY firs t used its new technique in Bessarabia. and met with a moderate degree of success. Later on, however, when used in greater nunb"rs in Finland, the paratroops failed almost completely. 12 From the .atandpoint of effecUvene •• in actual III1Utary cC-bat, the Gar ..... t..e s. far been the _oat suee ... ful by far in the Ua. of the parachutiat. During the Polhh .c8Ilp8ilD the deYice w •• used, but .omewhat .parinlly. In Po~aad the Qer.... , ~ ..sPAracbut •• chi.f1:lrtD.drop .abo~.ura .-.d. "'Jona ~lye~ 1JUhio..ho-.,Ul. te,rUor,.. Alain in No y the paraclu".t. _. u.ed by the Ger_DlI,. this time in a IIOre i.....tAlnt role. and played a ."ital part in the captur •• 1 0.10 .and in reinforcinl the German Expeditionary Force in the wilder regions of Nor_y. Also valuable as an adjunct to the operations in Belgium and Franc., it was, however, at Waalhaven and later in Crete, that the Ger_n paratroopers achieved their lIIO.t outstanding successes. At Waalhaven, the Rotterdam airport, a well-equipped, superbly coordinated force landed and captured the strongly fortified air field in less than a half-hour. One of the main advantages in the use of parachute troops is that they can be u.ed wherever aviation can operate, and yet they have the holdina pOlll'erofinfantry, which air power alone completely lacks. In using paratroops the element of surprise is highly important, because of the vulnerability of the troops during the descent, and because of the time needed after landing to e.tablish contacts and secure equipment. Once a foot-' hold has been established additional number. can be landed in a very short time. DIe illlPOrtanceof the ai rplane' s role in the. u.e of parachute troops cannot be minimized. If the troops are to be used in any great nUlllbers it is essential that aerial reconnaissance precede them, in order that a geographically suitable landinl area can be located, and also to determine the approximate strength of possible oppo.ition. Since the troop. are transported in highly vulnerable military cargo planes it is necessary that a friendly air force establish local air superiority prior to the arrival of the transports. Dlere is a definite technique in the succe.sful landing of a large group of parachutists. They must be dropped as near their objective, and .s close together as possible, and must not be in the air long enough to become easy targets for ground troops. In order to accomplish these ends, both delayed openings and jumps frOD extremely low altitudes are used. The Germans in many instances have jumped from altitudes of less than 300 feet. Fr~ this altitude landing takes less than five second.. Dangerous as this technique is, the speed and protection from ground defenses afforded by the swlft descent is held to be more valuable t~n the danger of jnjuries. In a well-balanced, well-equipped armed force there are many _ys in which parachute troops -y be utilized to a considerable degree of succe.s, (COIIClud.d on P••• 11)
RELATIVE RANK IN WORLD'S AIR FORCES In the air forces of most of the nations of the world there are 11 commissioned grades, ranging from second lieutenant to field marshal. Tabulations are given below of the relative rank in the air forces of Argentine, Brazi I, other Latin Amer i- can countries, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Russia and Turkey. GRADE ARGENTINE BRAZIL LATIN AMERICA OIINA Field Marshal Oene ral Lieut. General Major General Brig. General Colonel Lieut. Colonel Ma,lor Captain 1st Lieutenant 2nd Lieutenan t General .Teniente General .General de Division .General de Brigade Coronel Teniente Coronel Mayor Capitan Teniente Subteniente .Marechal .General .Tenente General General de'Divisao General de Brigada Coronel Tenente Major Capitao 1st Tenente 2nd Tenente Coronel General Teniente General General de Division General de Brigade Coronel Teniente Coronel Mayor Capi tan Teniente Subteniente Shang Otiang Chung Otiang Shao Otiang Shang Hsiao Otung Hsiao Shao Hsiao Shang Wei Chung Wei Shao Wei GRADE FRANCE GREAT BRITAIN Air Force Ranks JAPAN Field Marshal General Lieut. Genera 1 Major General Brig. General Colonel Lieut. Colonel Major Captain 1st Lieutenant 2nd Lieutenant General de Division General de Brigade Colonel Lieut. Colone 1 Conmandant Capitaine Lieutenant Sous Lieutenan t Feldmarschall Generaloberst General of Aviation Generalleutnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann Oberleutnant Leutnant Marshal of the R.A.F. Air Otief Marshal Air Marshal Air Vice-Marshal Ai r Comnodore Group Capta in Wing Corrmander Squadron Leader Flight Lieutenant Flying Officer Pilot Off icer Gensui Taish15' OtUjtr Shosho Taisa Chtisa Shosa Taii ChITi Shoi GRADE ITALY - AIR FORCE TIlE NEmERLANDS RUSSIA TURKEY Field Marshal General Lieut. General Major General Brig. General Colonel Maresciallo Generale di Armata Aerea Generale di Squadra Aerea General di Divisione Aerea Generale di Brigata Aerea Colonnello .Veldmaarschalk Generaal Luitenant-Generaal Generaal-Majoor Kolonel Marshal Sovetskogo Soyuz a Komandarm, I-go Ranga Komandarm, 2-go Ranga Kornkor Komdiv Kombrig Nolkovnik Ferik Pasha Mir-Liva Mir-Alai Lieut. Colonel Tenente Colonnello Luitenant-Kolonel Kolaasi Major Maggiore Majoor Maior Binbashi Captain Capi tano Kapitein Kapitan Yoosbashi 1st I,.ieutenant Tenente Eerste-Luitenant Starshii Leitnant Muliazim-evel 2nd Li~utenant Sottotenente Tweede -Luitenant Leitnant Mladshii Leitnant M.1liazim-Sany NOTE: An asterisk preceding rank indicates that it is non existent in the peace-time organization. Where is part of the Army, the grades also apply to the Army. 13
Page 2 and 3:
TABLE OF CONTENTS Pag"! Reorganizat
Page 5 and 6:
THE BIG BABY SOLOED B,19 Test Fligh
Page 7 and 8:
ENLISTED PILOTS BEGIN TRAINING Gulf
Page 9 and 10:
CABBAGE AND X-C DON'T MIX World War
Page 11 and 12:
___ --' ...J '- _ .. ,._-J "' --l..
Page 13 and 14:
SIXTEEN NEW FIELDS "CHRISTENED" A D
Page 15 and 16:
MAXWELL MANEUVERS TEACH FIELD DUTIE
Page 17 and 18:
FLEDGLING SON OF FAtvf.OUS FATHER C
Page 19 and 20:
FRESNO BASE FIRST SINCE CIVIL WAR T
Page 21 and 22:
......J .... _ ...... A rest camp f
Page 23 and 24:
------- ----- -----.. ---- --- -- -
Page 25 and 26:
THE JOB OF AIR CORPS TEST PILOTS Mu
Page 27 and 28:
A ... .&. ... "'.....J.....J -.,.,.
Page 29 and 30: .All tb1'ee f01'lll8 of converted i
Page 31 and 32: KEEP ,EM FLYING! Blood and hunger,
Page 34 and 35: GENERAL ANDREWS COMMANDS THE CARIlm
Page 36 and 37: The Army Air Forces' first glider,
Page 38 and 39: GUDERS ••• (Ooncluded) spect
Page 40 and 41: WE LEARNED... llpee!. So8riDg 18 a0
Page 42 and 43: 'The dive bomber is used to support
Page 44 and 45: THEN THIS... and we were still ing
Page 46 and 47: increased it. al t1tude of flight 4
Page 48 and 49: ALASK.A Lalld 1l.Btd: Hcmgar und e:
Page 50 and 51: LANDING various materials under con
Page 52 and 53: 8pecialized training for their part
Page 54 and 55: SOVIET .•. low al ti tude or llhe
Page 56 and 57: "VIET ." (Ooncluded) Junker-87 bomb
Page 58 and 59: WE LEAIlJWED... (Concluded) nights.
Page 60 and 61: FACILITIES. •• (Concluded) twee
Page 62 and 63: Whenever a birth occurs. all physic
Page 64 and 65: SUPPORT ••• (Concluded) deliv
Page 66: C friend? ) ( foe?) < •
Page 69 and 70: Photo Interpretation MATA HARI WITH
Page 71 and 72: , .! J, I t .':';'1 ~ ~ It':::. , .
Page 73 and 74: Our New Bases AsslgDlDent to Newfou
Page 75 and 76: THE JIR FORCES NEWS LETTER .. of th
Page 77 and 78: OVERSTUFFEDAERIAL WATCHMEN Barrage
Page 79: Warriors By Oliver Townsend from th
Page 84 and 85: could outdo Rube Goldberg. Be has t
Page 86 and 87: THE dIR FORCES Nr:WS U:TTr:R and ap
Page 88 and 89: Wanted: More Pilots RESERVE OFFICER
Page 90 and 91: THE AIR FORCES NEWS LETTER would be
Page 92 and 93: THE AIR FORCE8 NEW'S LETTER The que
Page 94 and 95: THE ,1IR FORCES NEIPS LETTER believ
Page 96 and 97: THE .IlIR FORCES NEWS LETTER The of
Page 98 and 99: THE AIR FORCES NEil'S LETTER CARlAD
Page 100 and 101: THE AIR FORCES NEWS LETTER fer the
Page 102: SUPPLY DIVISION KNOW YOUR AIR~RAFT
Page 105 and 106: Loulsl ••• Maneuvers End Supp
Page 107 and 108: IN THE FIELD WITH THE ARMY AIR FORC
Page 109 and 110: ---0 - - - 0- ---- THE WINGED By Ol
Page 111 and 112: Air OperadoDs In Alaska By Lieut. J
Page 113 and 114: THE AIR FORCES NEWS LETTER is about
Page 115 and 116: furways .1 rarnc \.JUIIUUI AERIAL T
Page 117 and 118: the danger from aircraft falling or
Page 119 and 120: .. An Equipment Review GERMAN AIRCR
Page 121 and 122: Graham CA-ackersfor Grounded Flyers
Page 123 and 124: A Veteran Retires FRANK P. LAHM APP
Page 125 and 126: New Marine Air Units MORE FEATHERS
Page 127 and 128: Wholesale Mess nail Feeding Them by
Page 129 and 130: The Bristol LIght Bom.ber Night Fig
Page 131 and 132:
THE MONTH IN REVIEW hy FALK HARMEL
Page 133 and 134:
Your Lite insurance SELF PROTECTION
Page 135 and 136:
en eng ing the application. It is h
Page 137 and 138:
LAHM .•• (Continued From Page 1
Page 140 and 141:
"I I., K.NOW YOUR AIR~RAFT
Page 142 and 143:
HEADQUARTERS ARMY AIR FORCES WASHIN
Page 144:
THE .tIIR FORCES NEWS LETTER . ;:..
Page 147:
THF ATR FORCES NEWS LETTER ,I I whe
Page 150 and 151:
THE AIR FORCES NEWS LETTER chanical
Page 152 and 153:
C I ~ . fjQ III ....
Page 154 and 155:
he reports direction and distance f
Page 156 and 157:
DEFENSE 0 00 (Continued From P.~. 1
Page 158 and 159:
e shown repeatedly if necessar,. Fi
Page 160 and 161:
THE AIR FORCES NliWS LETTER has in
Page 162 and 163:
Air Forees Seareh Oeean Flight Ende
Page 164 and 165:
"E" Awards at Langley Engineering M
Page 166 and 167:
accessory emergency unit (emergency
Page 168 and 169:
NOVEMBER F941 Further Expansion Und
Page 170 and 171:
THE AIR FORCES NEWS LETTER Decorati
Page 172 and 173:
would have been consumed in filling
Page 174 and 175:
£AMEIlA ••• \Continued 'r_ P
Page 176:
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News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

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